The Love You Never Realized
by Animalover48
Summary: My take on TOW the Screamer. We all know Phoebe didn't go to Joey's play because she was too obsessed with that phone call. But what if that wasn't the reason why she didn't go? What if that was just an excuse to hide the real reason?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I enjoyed writing my Joey and Phoebe one-shot a lot that I decided to do another one! Except this one is going to be multiple chapters. I hope you like it! :)**

 **Disclaimer: Friends doesn't belong to be, sadly.**

Phoebe is sitting on the couch in Monica and Rachel's apartment. She is still on hold for that stupid call that she's been waiting for hours. Or at least, that's what her friends thought. She actually only made that call just so she can have an excuse not to go to Joey's play. She's been deeply in love with him ever since their first kiss where she pretended to be her twin sister; it was the best kiss she's ever had. She never told him how she truly felt because she's worried that it'll ruin their friendship. Plus, she knows Joey isn't the kind of guy who would get into a committed relationship. At least that's what she figured, but when Joey met his co-star, Kate, he started to talk about her a lot and now says that he's falling in love with her. Phoebe just can't believe that he finally fell in love with someone but it isn't her. Why can't he just realize that he belongs with her and not Kate?! Why didn't she just tell him how she truly felt! Gosh, she feels like an idiot! She buries her face in her hands and lets the tears fall down. She's brought out of her thoughts when she hears Rachel come out of the bedroom.

"Pheebs, sweetie. You need to hang up the phone. You've been on hold for too long." Rachel says as she fixes her hair.

"But they said I'm the next caller." Phoebe replies.

"Honey, they said that about an hour ago, Plus, you have to go back to your place and get ready for Joey's play."

"Oh, I don't think I can go to his play. Rachel looks at Phoebe with a confused look.

"Why? He already got you your ticket."

Phoebe sighs as she places the phone on the table. She decides that maybe it's time to come out to someone about her secret love for Joey.

"Alright Rachel, I'm going to tell you something that I haven't told anyone . You've got promise me that you're not going to tell anyone. Especially, not Joey."

"Okay." A confused Rachel takes a seat next to Phoebe.

"So, so the truth is, the reason I don't want to go to Joey's play is because I can't stand to see him kiss that girl. Especially because he's actually in love with her."

"Alright, but why should that stop you from going... Omg! Do you like Joey?" Rachel asks as her eyes are wide.

"Yeah, I do. I'm actually madly in love with him." Phoebe looks down at the floor.

"Oh, my gosh Pheebs! Since when?"

"Ever since our first kiss when I pretended to be Ursula."

"Well, why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

"Because I was scared. Plus, I didn't want risk ruining my friendship with Joey. Also, I always thought Joey was the kind of guy who hates commitment. Until, he mentioned how much he loves that Kate chick!" Tears stream down Phoebe's face again.

Rachel scoots closer and wraps both her arms around Phoebe.

"Aww, Pheebs. You know if makes you feel any better, I don't think Joey's relationship with Kate will last long."

"But what if it does? What if they stay together and get married and have children?" Phoebe breaks down and buries her face in Rachel's chest.

Monica walks in with grocery bags.

"Hey guys! How's it g…. hey, what's matter with Pheebs?" Monica asks becoming worried about one of her close friends and runs over and takes a seat on the other side of Phoebe.

Rachel looks at Phoebe who is still resting her head-on Rachel's shoulders. She's asking with her eyes if she should tell her.

"Sure, go ahead and tell her! It's not like it's ever going to happen between us!" Phoebe cries.

"What's going on?" Monica wonders wrinkling her eyebrows in confusion.

"Phoebe has it bad for Joey." Rachel exposes as she rubs Phoebe's back.

"What! Really?" Monica's eyes are wide.

"Y-yeah. B-but i-it's n-nev-ver g-goi-ing to h-hap-pen. H-he l-loves t-that K-Kate c-chick." Phoebe begins to sobs again.

"Aww Pheebs, it's going be okay." Monica gives her a back hug.

"Look, I'm just not going to go to his play. I think it's better that way." Phoebe manages to calm herself down.

"But don't you want to be there to support him? I mean, he'll be upset if you don't come." Monica mentions as she hands Phoebe a box of tissues from the table.

"I know, but I can't bear seeing him kiss Kate. I know it's just acting but the fact that he actually loves her kills me on the inside. If I go to that play, I'm going to feel miserable and wish that that was me on that stage." Phoebe picks her head up and accepts the tissues.

"I guess we understand, but what are you going to tell Joey?" Rachel questions.

"I don't even know. I think I'm just going to tell him that this phone call is important and I can't afford to hang up." More and more tears stream down Phoebe's face and she continues to use the tissues to wipe them.

Within a minute later, Joey walks in with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey guys, you excited for the p…. hey Pheebs, what's wrong?" Joey quickly becomes concerned with his best friend.

The girls just stare at Joey not knowing what to say.

 **I hope you enjoy the first chapter! Please Review! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Enjoy chapter 2! :)**

Joey enters the apartment with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey guys, are you excited for my p… Hey, Pheebs, what's wrong?"

The girls just stare at Joey not knowing what to say.

"Nothing Joey, I'm just having a bad day." Phoebe answers.

"Oh, I'm sorry, what happened?" Joey asks as he takes a seat on the white chair next to the couch.

"Look, it doesn't matter." Phoebe gets up from the couch and walks towards the door.

"Yeah it does matter, I don't want you being unhappy coming to my play tonight." Joey follows Phoebe.

"Yeah about that, I can't go, sorry." Phoebe is about to leave but Joey grabs her arm.

"What why? You have to come!"

"I just can't okay! Bye!" Phoebe yanks her arm back and leaves, slamming the door behind her."

"What's her problem?" Joey asks turning to face Rachel and Monica.

"It really isn't our place to tell you. You're going to have to ask her yourself." Rachel responds and Monica nods in agreement.

Joey realizes that they're right. He has to go find out what her deal is and he isn't going to stop until he does. Phoebe's his best friend and he's not going to be able to focus on his play until he knows.

"You're right. I'm going to go find out what's bothering her." He exits the apartment.

* * *

Phoebe is sitting on her green couch at home. She is hugging her guitar and lets the tears fall from her eyes. Why can't she be Kate?! What does Kate have that she doesn't?! She hasn't met Kate yet but she can assume that she's really beautiful. Obviously more beautiful then Phoebe can ever be. At least that's what she thinks. She starts streaming her guitar and says, "Maybe I can write a song about this." She grabs her notebook and a pen and dives deep into her thoughts. A few minutes later, she tosses her notebook and pen on the coffee table. There's no point in writing a song about this. A minute later, she hears a click at the door. She groans not feeling like dealing with anyone right now. She gets up from the couch to check, only to find the last person she wants to see right now.

"Joey? What are you doing here?" Phoebe asks.

"I'm here to see what your deal is. How can you not come to my play, Pheebs? You're my best friend and I need you to be there to support me." Phoebe can see the hurt and pain in his eyes and guilt starts to build up in her.

"Aww Joey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." As she sits back down and Joey joins her.

"It's okay, but you better have a good reason." Phoebe doesn't know whether she should tell him or not.

"Joe, I do want to tell you. But I'm scared that it'll ruin our friendship." Phoebe looks back at the ground.

"Pheebs, nothing on this planet can ever ruin our friendship." Joey reassures as he places arm around her.

"It doesn't matter, because I've lost my chances. Maybe if I've told you before, than it could've worked. But now it's too late."

"Told me what?" Joey wrinkles his eyebrows in confusion as he removes his arm.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does."

She cups his face with both her hands and makes direct eye contact with him.

"Go Joey, be with Kate. I've lost my chances. It's her turn now." She removes her hands.

"No, I'm not leaving until you tell me. I don't care if you think you've lost your chances. You have one right now."

"But it's too complicated to tell. I mean how can I tell my best friend that I'm madly in love with him." She immediately covers her mouth. She didn't mean to say it. It just slipped out. She waits for his reaction.

She can tell that he has a mix of shock and confusion in his eyes.

"Y-you love me?" Joey breaks the silence.

"Yeah, I do." Both look at the floor.

"Since when?"

"Since our first kiss when I pretended to be Ursula."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" He looks back up at her.

"Because I was afraid that it'll ruin our friendship. Also, I thought you were afraid of commitment."

"I am, but I would've been willing to give it a shot. I mean, I don't know if I like you like that. But I would've been okay with trying it out."

"Well, it's too late now." Tears start to well up in Phoebe's eyes.

"Pheebs-

"No, Joey. I've lost my chances okay? Go to Kate, she's the one you love." Joey puts his arm around her again.

"But aren't you going to come?"

"No, because seeing you kiss her will be too painful for me to watch. I know it's just acting but the fact that you're in love with her, makes it painful. I'm sorry, Joey."

They both don't say anything for a few minutes. Joey gets up from the couch.

"Well, I do have to go because the play is going to start soon and I need to be there early to get into costume."

He grabs his keys and coat is heads towards the door, he turns back and says, "Look Pheebs, if you don't come to my play, I'm going to be very sad." He opens the front door and shuts it behind him on his way out. Phoebe looks at the ground debating if she should go or not.

 **Please review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoy Chapter 3! :)**

As Joey drives down to the theatre, he can't get Phoebe out of his mind. He doesn't know why. He does love her, but only as a friend. At least that's what he figures; he never once thought of her as anything more than just a friend. But after she revealed her feelings, it hit him. Maybe he can see himself with the odd blonde. No! He can't think like that! Phoebe's his best friend and that's it! Not that he wouldn't want to, he does think she's beautiful, but he can't risk losing his friendship with her. Their friendship is extremely important to him and he would never want to do anything to ruin it. Ugh! Why is this so hard for him?! Hopefully doing this play can help take his mind off of it.

He arrives at the theatre, and enters the dressing room. As he gets dressed, someone enters the room and it turns out to be someone he really shouldn't be talking to.

"Hey Joey." Kate greets.

"Hey." He greets back awkwardly.

"You excited to do this?" She asks placing her bag down.

"Yeah, but nervous to."

"Same here, but I'm sure we're going to do great." She starts getting her clothes out.

"Yeah." He grabs her by arm and brings her closer to him. He cups her face with both his hands and leans in to kiss her. Until something or someone stops him. He opens his slightly and sees the last person he wants to see right now.

"Ahh." He quickly backs away when he sees Phoebe smiling at him.

"What's wrong?" He then sees Kate again and she has a concern look.

"Oh umm, nothing. Sorry Kate, I just need to clear my head. I'll see you on stage." He gathers his belongings and goes to the other room to change.

But he doesn't change, he just sits down on one of the chairs and just stares at the floor. Why did he see Phoebe when he tried to kiss Kate? He's supposed to be in love with Kate! Not Phoebe! "Ugh! What's wrong with me?!" He says to himself as he buries his face in his hands. Maybe this is a sign that Kate isn't the woman he's supposed to be with? But there's no way he can love Phoebe like that. Can he? Maybe he can. How bad can it be to date his best friend? As he told Chandler when he first met her, she has an excellent rack and great butt. But there was definitely more to her than just that. He always thought she was the most beautiful woman he ever met. He wanted to flirt with her but there always something inside him that stopped him. But he never knew what it was. Was it because she's his best friend? He doesn't know how long he's been sitting down until there is a knock at the door.

"Yeah?" He calls getting up.

"Fifteen minutes until show time Mr. Tribbiani." A lady answers.

"Oh crap! Thanks for letting me know! I'm getting dressed right now!"

He quickly gets dressed and walks out to greet his friends before the play. He sees them all including the one he hoped would show up.

"Hey guys!" He greets and gives them a hug.

"Good luck Joey! I know you're going to do great!" Monica wishes.

"Thanks Mon, I need it." He thanks and looks and Phoebe with a smile.

"Pheebs, so glad you decided to come." He goes to give her a hug.

"Well, I figured you need all your friends here. Plus, I would feel guilty if I didn't come." She replies putting on a brave smile.

"Well it really means a lot that you came." He gives her a smile and a quick kiss on the cheek and leaves.

* * *

During the play, Joey for some reason couldn't get Phoebe out of his mind. He doesn't know why though. Maybe he really does have feelings for her. How can he though? She's his best friend. But, there was always a part of him that saw her as more than a friend. Is that why he saw her when he tried to kiss Kate? He jerks out of his thoughts when he hears Kate.

"Hey! Vic!" Kate shouts.

"Oh sorry, come on baby don't go!" He gets back into character.

"Why? Am I suppose be happy, Vic? Happy?" She says in character.

"Well I don't know. Cause when I look at you, nothing!" He hesitantly goes in to kiss her but he knows Phoebe will be hurt. He stops and looks at her. He can tell in his eyes that she's hurt but is trying to keep a smile.

"Vic? Aren't you supposed to do something? Something that might make me stay." Kate says trying to stay in character.

He decides to just give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Umm, no. That won't make me stay Vic. You have to do more than that!"

He then sees Phoebe getting up and heading towards the door. He figures she must not want cause any awkwardness. He realizes now that if he lets her go, he will soon regret it.

"You know what, baby. You should go." He says.

"What?" Kate looks confused.

"Yeah, go. Because I'm in love with someone else." He announces and everyone in the audience gasps.

Phoebe is about to open the door when he looks back at Joey. Who has now gotten off the stage and is running towards her and everyone is looking at him confused. He finally reaches her.

"Hey." He says smiling.

"Joey, what are you doing?" She asks confused.

"Something I should've done a long time ago." He answers as he grabs her by the waists and plants his hungry lips on hers.

She is surprised at first but eagerly kisses him back more passionately. He breaks apart from her, rests his forehead against hers, and says the three words he wishes he would've said a long time ago.

"I love you Phoebe."

"Okay, this turns out to be the best day ever." She says with a big smile on her face.

Their lips meet again and everyone in the audience starts clapping and their friends all have big smile on their faces. It was at the moment that everyone knows at Joey and Phoebe are lobsters.

 **The End! Sorry it's only three chapters. I was worried that if I make it too long, I would lose interest and not finish it. But don't worry, I have more Phoebe and Joey stories that I might write! Thanks for reading this! :)**


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